Ali Obaï Bin Ka'b, Vidal Alexandre, Grova Christophe, Benali Habib
Physics Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2025 Jan 13;21(1):e1012683. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012683. eCollection 2025 Jan.
Astrocytes critically shape whole-brain structure and function by forming extensive gap junctional networks that intimately and actively interact with neurons. Despite their importance, existing computational models of whole-brain activity ignore the roles of astrocytes while primarily focusing on neurons. Addressing this oversight, we introduce a biophysical neural mass network model, designed to capture the dynamic interplay between astrocytes and neurons via glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission pathways. This network model proposes that neural dynamics are constrained by a two-layered structural network interconnecting both astrocytic and neuronal populations, allowing us to investigate astrocytes' modulatory influences on whole-brain activity and emerging functional connectivity patterns. By developing a simulation methodology, informed by bifurcation and multilayer network theories, we demonstrate that the dialogue between astrocytic and neuronal networks manifests over fast-slow fluctuation mechanisms as well as through phase-amplitude connectivity processes. The findings from our research represent a significant leap forward in the modeling of glial-neuronal collaboration, promising deeper insights into their collaborative roles across health and disease states.
星形胶质细胞通过形成广泛的缝隙连接网络来塑造全脑结构和功能，这些网络与神经元密切且活跃地相互作用。尽管它们很重要，但现有的全脑活动计算模型忽略了星形胶质细胞的作用，而主要关注神经元。为了解决这一疏忽，我们引入了一种生物物理神经团网络模型，旨在通过谷氨酸能和γ-氨基丁酸能传递途径捕捉星形胶质细胞和神经元之间的动态相互作用。该网络模型提出，神经动力学受到连接星形胶质细胞和神经元群体的两层结构网络的约束，这使我们能够研究星形胶质细胞对全脑活动和新兴功能连接模式的调节影响。通过开发一种基于分岔和多层网络理论的模拟方法，我们证明星形胶质细胞网络和神经元网络之间的对话通过快慢波动机制以及相位-振幅连接过程得以体现。我们研究的结果代表了神经胶质-神经元协作建模的重大飞跃，有望更深入地了解它们在健康和疾病状态下的协作作用。
